This invention relates to an elbow pad for canines, and more particularly relates to an elbow pad of laminated construction and to methods of using the pad to treat calluses on the elbows of canines.
Calluses on elbows are a problem unique to canines rather than other animals. The main reason for this is that dogs when lying down wear out the hair at the elbow which is practically all bone and then calluses are formed causing pain and itching to the dog. Removal of such calluses by a veternarian is prohibitive because of the high cost, and even if an operation is performed, the calluses eventually grow back by virtue of the dog lying down on hard floors.
It is customary in the treatment of calluses to apply some type of medication to the callus followed by a covering of sorts. This has not proved to be altogether successful however, since the dog pulls the covering off and then licks away the medication.
Attempts have been made in treating calluses on dog elbows to strap or tie around the elbow of the dog protector or a pad. Such attempts have proved to be otherwise unsuccessful since they generally resulted in a cutting off of the circulation or otherwise caused discomfort to the dog because of the tight binding. Adhesive bandages have not proved to be beneficial in the treatment of dog elbow calluses because of the growth of hair in the elbow region. While the bandage once applied is effective to cover the medicated area, the removal of the bandage is injurious because all of the hair in the adhesive areas of the bandage is removed with the bandage.
The prior art is replete with pads, protectors, and coverings, for humans and animals. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 386,630, a horse boot is disclosed to protect the back of the leg of the horse, and which includes a hinged construction between upper and lower parts and the boot is attached to the horse with several straps that extend around the leg of the horse outside the boot. U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,440, shows an elbow protector for humans which includes a shaped foam pad held in position by a tubular fabric sleeve. Further, an elbow protector for humans is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,846,835, having a laminated construction of an outer leather cover and several inner fabric protective layers which are stitched to form a quilt-like pad. A strap is passed around the arm of the wearer to connect the elbow protector to the body. Other human knee pads and heel supports for horses may be found and are typified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,862,303; 2,122,627; and 3,124,919. While all of these devices are successful for their intended purposes, none relate specifically to a protector for the elbows of a dog which includes a strap arrangement for maintaining the elbow protectors in an upper position on the elbows of the dog and which extend over the animal's shoulders or back. Further, such prior art devices do not set forth any type of elbow pads for dogs that can be used to cure or help to prevent calluses from forming on canines.
These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome with the present invention, and commercially acceptable embodiments of a canine elbow protector pad and the like are herein provided which are not only fully capable of curing and healing calluses on the elbows of dogs but which are also fully capable of other tasks completely beyond the devices of the prior art. More particularly, however, the embodiments of the present invention are capable of operation with much efficiency and at a substantially reduced cost of construction.